Annie sighed. She should have had suspected he'd still be up, reading. He read more in a month than most people do in a lifetime, just like his father. Why couldn't he have been fast asleep when they had walked in? He looked so innocent, so cute, when he was asleep.
Ben looked at the boy in the bed. He was wearing glasses, round wire-rimmed ones. Piercing blue eyes, brown hair sticking up…Ben didn't know what to do. He wanted to cry, he wanted to run over and hug the boy, he wanted to tell him everything. Ben wasn't sure of how the boy felt about his father whom he had never before seen showing up without being told. Would he be happy? Happy that a man with whom he probably had so much in common, so much to discuss with? Or would he hate the man who had never been there for him?
Benji himself wasn't sure how to feel. Benji was smart; he knew this man was his father just by looking at him. This was the man who his mother talked about spending long days at the beach with as teenagers, just talking with as kids. His mother always said she did most of the talking; his father was very quiet. Benji had always liked stories about his father, they never bored him. Benji's strategy was to ask for the same story many times. Each time, he'd gather more and more details. His father was just how he'd pictured him. He had blue eyes, brown hair, and wore khakis and a striped shirt.
There was silence. As much as she wanted to see how things played out and didn't want to leave, Annie felt she had to in order for the father and son to speak. She took one last look at Benji, still staring at his father, before she left. She walked to her bedroom. She had always wondered what her two favorite people in the world meeting would be like.
Ben took a deep breath, preparing to say something, but not sure what.
"Hi dad," Benji said quietly.
Ben walked over to the bed and sat down.
"Hello Benji," Ben said, feeling his eyes tear up. Tears were already streaming down Benji's face.
Ben put his arms around Benji. It felt so nice, Benji's-his son's- head right under his chin.
With guilt, he thought of Alex. She wasn't his, was never really his, but he still missed her. He had raised her. He had read her bedtime stories, had made her birthday cakes, had comforted her whenever a caterpillar she had put in a jar died, had even thought about talking about sex with her when she turned thirteen (Juliet had interrogated her; it turned out Alex knew everything), hell, he had even made breakfast for her imaginary friends up until she was eight.
But hugging Benji felt better than hugging Alex ever had. And up until she was twelve, that had been the highlight of his day.
What really struck him though, was that even though he had never met his son before, Benji still loved him.
When Annie walked in after giving them almost a half-hour together, she found Benji asleep, with his father next to him. She thought about waking Ben up and bringing him into her room, but decided to let him be. She walked over and took off Benji's glasses, and kissed Ben. She wondered what the two of them would be like around each other in the morning.
Ben woke up at four. He briefly considered getting up and going to Annie's room, but fell asleep before he could finish his thought.
The next time he woke up was at seven. Benji's pet bunny was in his cage, noisily drinking from a water bottle. Summer sun shone through the windows. Benji was still asleep. Ben sat up and stroked Benji's hair. By his count, he was already a better father to this boy than his father was to him. After all, his father certainly didn't love him at all. Ben, however, already loved Benji. Ben kissed Benji on the cheek.
He got up, planning on taking a shower. He walked into Annie's room. She was sleeping. Ben kissed her, then went through his duffel bag, searching for clothes.
"Ben," Annie said sleepily, "come over here."
Ben walked over to Annie. She put her hands around his neck and pulled him onto the bed. "Your breath is great in the morning," Annie murmured between kisses.
"Yours is too," Ben said.
They fell back asleep.
When still-not-showered Ben and Annie walked into the kitchen at nine, Benji was sitting at the round table, eating cereal, also in his pajamas.
"Morning, Benji," Annie greeted cheerily.
Ben sat down next to Benji. He hadn't had a real conversation with him yet. He had no idea what to say. Annie passed him a cereal bowl. Ben looked at the cereal in Benji's bowl, then found the box it came from and poured himself a bowlful.
"Milk?" Annie asked. "Oh, wait, I guess I forgot."
Ben had never liked milk on his cereal. In the hatch, it was different. He was trying new things-Stephen King, as well as milk on his cereal.
Annie brought a spoonful of milk-covered cereal to her mouth. "You two are so odd." Ben looked at Benji's bowl to see that his cereal was dry as well.
Just then, the phone rang. Annie picked it up. "It's my publisher. This might take a while." Annie picked up her cereal bowl and walked towards her study.
Annie was a writer. As a kid, she would tell Ben how that was the one thing she wanted to do when she grew up. Well, that and she wanted five kids, lots of puppies, and an unlimited supply of candy.
Ben and his son ate in silence.
"What's your rabbit's name?" Ben asked, finally, to break the ice.
"Frank. Like in Donnie Darko." Sensing his father didn't know what it was, Benji clarified. "Donnie Darko is a movie about a teenager... You know, we should just watch it. It's my favorite movie, and it's very tough to describe. Anyway, Frank is this guy dressed up in a rabbit costume who tells Donnie that the world is going to end in twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, and twelve seconds."
Ben smiled. He had been invited to watch a movie with his son. Donnie Darko even sounded interesting. This was most definitely progress.
Ben watched his twelve-year-old son eat the rest of his cereal. "I'm going to go get dressed," Benji said.
"Okay. I'll go shower. When do you want to watch the movie?" Ben asked.
"How about tonight?"
"Sounds good," Ben said, smiling.